Along The Water's Edge
by Kementari
Summary: Blue Sub/GW mixed AU. It's semi-strange, but that's how I wanted it to start out. You'll just have to read for yourself..
1. Default Chapter Title

Along The Water's Edge   
_*****************************_

_The gentle breezes ran lazily against the sand, changing ever so slightly only to be swallowed up by the tide. A lone call of a seagull echoed through the silence, and as he stared from the cliff, he felt himself plunging towards the depths of the icy waves.._

"Come on, just for a while?" I grinned. "Plleeeaaassseee? Change it to something interesting!"   
Trowa ignored me and continued watching the drama. I settled back against the couch and sighed. Everyone was having a 'quiet day', and there was no way I could change it, and I couldn't watch cartoons either.   
My name's Duo Maxwell by the way. I'm your average 16 year old, except that I'm a licensed Preventer.   
What's a Preventer you ask? About 40 years ago these crazed bunch of scientists started to experiment with various animals. The end result was a race of sea creatures bent on destroying anything on land. They started wrecking towns and houses, and that's where the Preventer Corps. came in.   
I'm one of the younger trainees, in fact our small unit is still pretty young. Besides me, there's Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Wu Fei Chang.   
Heero's a walking robot, no matter what he says. Sometimes he creeps me out with his machine personality, but it does make him more fun to annoy. Trowa, well, I don't know much about him. He showed up one day without explanation and ever since then has just kind of fit in with the rest of us. Wu Fei's the crabby one, his home was totally annihilated from an attack when he was very young, and I guess he joined for revenge purposes.   
Then there's Quatre. His father is the head of the Winner Corporation, which funds the Preventers. I have a feeling he didn't come by choice, but without him things wouldn't be the same. I guess he and Heero knew each other since they were young, since they seem to know each other pretty well. Trowa seems pretty close to the blonde too, but I guess everyone is.   
There was a soft beeping noise which took our full attention. Trowa jumped up, turned off the tv and ran towards the front door. I followed.   
A minute later Heero, Wu Fei, Trowa and I were heading towards the parking garage of our small dormitory building. We all can drive, but I don't think anyone trusts me anymore since I almost ran into that big building.   
It wasn't _my_ fault it was so close to the sidewalk.   
I pulled my brown Preventers jacket tighter around me and examined my gun. Trowa pulled the jeep out and we all slid inside.   
"The report came from the Bay Area," Quatre's firm tone announced over our walkie-talkies. I imagined him somewhere inside the building, hooked up to his tiny headset and staring at walls of images. "About 5 or 6 reds, and 2 blues.."   
"How tall?" Heero inquired.   
"The tallest is anywhere between two to three metres." Quatre's voice remained grave. "Probably the alpha male.."   
"We'll have to take it out first." Heero mused.   
"Be careful," Quatre said.   
"Hey, relax, we can handle this!" I grinned to myself. "It'll be way too easy.."

We saw them before we even came close to the small cafe. Large, slimy creatures which looked like they came out of a horror movie. The largest one looked like some strange cross between a brown toad, a lizard, and about as slimy as a jellyfish. The others were smaller and less disgusting, but still made my skin crawl.   
What was even worse was that they saw us coming first.   
"Trowa and Wu Fei, concentrate on keeping the others seperated.." Quatre ordered. "Duo and Heero take on the alpha male.."   
"No problem there!" I ran straight ahead, ready to face against the thing. The others seperated into various groups, leaving me to have the most fun.   
"Duo wait!!"   
It was too late. I skidded to a halt, only to be tackled straight to the ground.   
I felt a cold, slimy drop of liquid hit my face and opened my eyes to see the alpha male staring at me. His reptilian head stared at me as his fish eyes blinked slowly. I felt his clawed fins holding down my wrists and arms, preventing me from reaching for my weapon.   
I'd heard horror stories about how just one mistake with the nasties could result in torn appendages or death, but never believed them. But looking at the thing so close, and seeing the big teeth made me want to wet myself.   
The monster came closer, staring straight at me. Then there was a loud noise of a gun, and the thing instantly fell off me, twitching.   
Heero approached and shot his gun again, killing the alpha male without much trouble. I turned on my side, gagging slightly.   
The other monsters twisted back, stared once at us, then headed towards the bank again. Trowa and Wu Fei gunned two down, but the others left unscathed.   
"Yuch, yuch yuch.." I wiped the slime off my face. "Did you have to take so long?"   
"Be more careful," Heero muttered softly as he made sure the monster was dead.   
"Thanks," I wiped the last of the slime off my face. "A lot.."   
That's when I noticed her.   
She couldn't have been older than 8, and I wondered if she'd been seperated from her family. The girl had light blonde hair and as I squinted, I saw green-blue flecked eyes staring back at me.   
She trembled and stepped back, staring horrified at the dead monster. I saw her expression and felt chills down my back.   
She was one of them..   
Heero's expression remained silent. He stared at me momentarily then reloaded his gun.   
I turned away just as he lifted his weapon. There was a loud gunshot, and I knew the family would never see their daughter again.   
Heero lifted me back to my feet and we went back towards the jeep.   
A cleanup crew would be here soon to get rid of the remains. Our part of the job was done..   
And thinking about the big monster again, I was glad.

************************************************

You know I don't own Gundam Wing, _I_ know I don't own Gundam Wing. 'Nuff said.   
As I said, this is just a trial run. I'm really creatively dried out but this is another idea that's been playing in my mind. As I said, it's a lot of influence from Blue Sub, so if you look carefully you'll probably see why.   
This might take a loong time to finish so I won't make any promises. Sorry guys.

And thanks to everyone who reviewed Legends.. I didn't think so many people would enjoy it!!


	2. Default Chapter Title

**Along The Water's Edge**   
**II**   
******************************

Quatre waited quietly for the others to return. He typed in a few more commands, feeling slightly blind in the darkened room. On opposite walls, computer screens spat out data at the rate that one would talk.   
It was silent, but hardly peaceful. 'The Computer Room' as it was dubbed, was the center of all information and command of a Preventer unit. Both he and Heero were licensed to use the systems involved, but Quatre preferred the tiny room to the battlefield.   
He stared at the computer screen, immediately cringing as the gunshot went off. Silence took over, and he delved in it for quite some time.   
A tiny tear rolled down his cheek as he switched the communications on. "Heero.. How did it go?"   
"We killed the male and 3 others." Heero replied monotonely.   
"And the other?"   
"We'll be back within 15 minutes," Heero answered, completely ignoring the second question.   
"But."   
"It's part of our job, not yours. Don't get upset." Heero murmured. "Unit out.."   
Wearily, Quatre nodded and slipped his earphone off, sliding the attached wire out of a small indentation on his wrist. Gently setting it against the desk, he slid deeper into the plush chair and closed his eyes.   
With the creation of the monsters, there came a mutation of people in response. These children had appeared in the past 20 years, and were just as much of a threat as the creatures themselves.   
With psychic powers and unusual strength, these 'adepts' were classified as dangerous and were to be dealt with immediately. The orders were straight from the government, and there was no use questioning them.   
The silence of the small room enveloped him. Quatre nervously pulled himself to his feet and left the room. He walked down the hall, then back to their apartment.

The group stepped inside, looking slightly tired and sweaty. The room had already been air conditioned, and they all pulled off their jackets instantly. There was a faint noise from the television and Quatre smiled wearily as he saw the four enter.   
"I call shower first," Duo announced as he tossed his jacket carelessly against a large brown armchair. He grinned as he saw Quatre. "Hey! You missed all the fun!"   
Quatre didn't answer but silently picked up Duo's coat and folded it into a neat square. "The drinks are in the fridge, everything else should be fixed."   
"Thanks dude." Duo walked into the bathroom, turned on the light, and disappeared.   
Trowa sat down on the large green couch and ran his hand through his hair. Heero and Wu Fei disappeared into the kitchen, and everything seemed to go back to normal.

~~~~~~~

I returned from the shower feeling much more like myself. Trowa and Quatre were watching telelvision as usual, Heero was staring straight at his laptop, as usual, Wu Fei was sitting and reading a book.. as usual.   
You get the feeling there are a lot of 'as usual's around here?   
I decided it was time to start spicing things up. Grabbing onto a small watergun, I retreated to the sink grinning to myself.   
Once the gun was filled, I looked at my soon-to-be victims. They were totally unaware of my prescence..   
Good.. very good..   
"FREEZE!!" I yelled as I stood in the position of the doorway. Just to make my point clear, I squirted the water straight into Quatre's face.   
The reaction was not what I wanted.   
"DUO!!" Quatre snapped as he turned his face away. His hands covered his eyes and his expression turned into pain.   
Heero and Wu Fei ran into the room just as Quatre got up and ran out.   
"Maxwell what did you do to him?!" Wu Fei snapped.   
"Nothing.. It's just water!" I held the gun out, showing my innocence.   
"Idiot," Wu Fei disappeared again.   
Geez, I never thought anyone could get that upset about a water gun.. Sighing, I slipped back on the couch.   
Something really hard hit the back of my head, making me fall to the ground.   
Behind me, Trowa was holding onto one of the couch pillows, his face still stoic. He sat down where I'd been and returned to watching the television.   
Letting out a loud 'HMPH!', I went to apologize to Quatre.

You always know exactly when you're in Quatre's room. First off, there's the smell. I don't know what the guy does, but the place always smells exactly like fresh sandalwood. It's not in that annoying so much it makes you gag way, it just makes you feel comfortable.   
Secondly, there's the cleanliness. There's nothing on the floor, nothing stuck behind corners and absolutely nothing that a maid could pick up anywhere. Makes me sick.   
Third, it well.. feels Quatre-ish. There isn't a television, but there's one small stereo which has been known to play anything from simple instrumentals to relaxed guitar music. The walls are a very light blue and the carpet's a darker version. On a small table are several pictures, including one of the 5 of us when we went to the beach on vacation.   
I carefully flipped the lights on, and saw Quatre sitting on the bed. His eyes remained tightly closed, and for a moment I could swear I saw an expression of pain on his face.   
"Hey, Q-man.." I paused. "You awake?"   
Quatre blinked for a moment then stared at me, the light glinting in his eyes just slightly. "Duo?"   
"You freaked out when I got ya with the water gun, you okay?"   
"I'm fine, it just startled me.." Quatre smiled wearily. "I've been under a lot of stress lately."   
"Ah," I answered, not quite understanding why he had become so upset.   
"Duo, could you hand me that bottle up there?" Quatre pointed to a small white medicine bottle on a shelf.   
"Yeah," That was funny.. I didn't know Quatre took any type of medicine.   
"Thanks," he took the bottle and pulled out two white pills. There was a moment of silence as he stared vacantly at me.   
"What, you want me to leave?"   
Quatre nodded.   
You ever feel like no one trusts you? Just as I was leaving, I saw Heero enter into the room.

~~~~~~~~

Heero grunted as he sat on the side of the bed and stared at the blonde. Quatre met his stare momentarily then hid the bottle.   
"I didn't like it anymore than you did," Heero murmured silently.   
He remained silent, his hand gripping tighter around the bottle. "They're going to attack again,"   
"We know that."   
"And we'll continue killing them,"   
"Yeah." Heero shifted, his face becoming more and more stonelike. "If you don't like it.."   
"My father won't let me quit," Quatre answered. "I have no choice.." a faint, choked laugh escaped his lips as he stared at the bottle. "It's funny you know? They say ignorance is bliss.."   
He slid the lid open and pulled out a small white tablet. Taking a deep forced breath, he swallowed it.   
"It is.."

************************************

As I said, this probably wouldn't make much sense, but it's kind of a layout for the next part. I figured it would eventually turn into a mystery (weird considering a lot of it is based on Blue Sub, huh?)   
Thanks to those who reviewed, it really helps me to have an initiative to keep writing and posting!   
Oh yeah.. Congrats to all the authors and fics here, we've passed 10K!!


	3. Default Chapter Title

  
**Along the Water's Edge**   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

My name is Quatre Raberba Winner, son of the owner of the Winner Corporation.   
I'm a Preventer.   
It's not something I'm proud of, it's just that way. My father signed me up when I was 10, and ever since then I'd been one. I met Heero then, and the others I met about 2 years ago when I was 14.   
It's funny how you remember certain things such as that. I remember when I met Heero, his cold and pessimistic views oddly out of place. I remember meeting Trowa, and instantly warming up to him.. I remember Duo, because after he joined there was no such thing as peace here.   
There's a lot of tension this morning, which is unusual. Usually things are quiet and half-awake, but everyone seems on edge today.   
I'm an empath, by the way. It means I can sense everyone's emotions, and sometimes sense what they're thinking.   
It's funny, people think of it as incredible and fantastic, but it's not. When I'm around a whole crowd of people, I can't block their emotions out. There was one night when we 5 went out to a restaurant, the people beside us had swallowed a full bottle of wine.   
Needless to say, it had its effect on me.   
But I digress, something was unusual this morning and I was worried about what. The nervousness was thick in the air as I entered into our small, slightly cluttered kitchen.   
It must have been Duo's turn to make breakfast; standing semi-upright in the middle of the table was a glass of milk, a few bowls and spoons, and a box of Lucky Charms.   
Wu Fei was sitting, reading the paper like he always does. Heero was pacing back and forth while Duo was tensely squeezing onto his braid. I didn't see Trowa anywhere.   
Heero immediately glanced up at me, and I could sense a slight change in his demeanor. It became hardened, and prepared.   
"What's wrong?" I aksed, already guessing by the tension.   
"We have physicals today," Heero announced with his usual tone.   
Physicals. I knew the color in my face drained out, but I forced myself to remain calm as I sat down.   
Physicals are just like they sound, they test the younger Preventers for both phsyical and mental strength, weaknesses, disorders, anything which could prevent them from doing their job.   
It's something no one looks forward to; doctors come along and prod you and poke you and take blood samples.. just thinking about it makes me queasy.   
It's not that I can't deal with blood, I've seen enough of it to become accustomed, but it bothers me and there's something unappealing about someone sticking a needle into your wrist.   
I stared vacantly at the small mark on my own arm, to use the system you had to remain completely calm or the information overload could drive you crazy. When I was on it, my pulse and reaction time was continually monitored for some type of defect.   
"What time?"   
"In an hour." Duo answered me, still looking cheerful. "Aw loosen up Q-man! We'll get it over with and they won't do another one for the next two months!"   
Everyone stared blankly at him.   
"What?" Duo shrugged.

~~~~~~

The nurse calmly checked the ten young recruits' heights as she hummed to herself. For the most part, the routine had remained monotonous and boring. Heero watched the others pass through, both his unit and another, waiting for the process to be over.   
It was mundane to him, but he could see why the others were so displeased with the process; doctors and upper generals and captains asking an endless round of questions and tests.   
He and Quatre weren't done, they would have to both go through another round of mental questions to make sure the system used for fighting wasn't affecting them.   
Duo appeared, waving his arm and wincing slightly. Quatre silently stood up, smoothed his vest, and walked into the room.

A few minutes later, Quatre reappeared, looking very white and relieved. Heero nodded silently as Duo waved.   
"Hey!! How'd it go?"   
"They said everything looked normal," Quatre answered. "Except I'm a little bit taller than last time."   
Heero glanced. "Anything else?"   
"No," Quatre shook his head. "None at all.."   
"Hn." Heero replied softly.   


~~~~~

It had been a week since the physicals, enough time for things to become reasonably normal.   
I was still annoying Wu Fei and Heero, Trowa and Quatre were practicing various card games, the usual. Now that I look back on it, it was probably the calm before the storm which no one seemed to see.   
We heard a slight ringing sound coming from the telephone, and we all looked towards it.

~~~~~~~

Another mission, Duo mused silently as they approached a very small darkened grey building.   
It looked exactly like just another warehouse, but the sources had said it was a hideout for both the adepts and the monsters.   
Either way, it smelled like fish.   
Duo gagged and covered his nose. Heero and Trowa glared as they gently examined their surroundings.   
"Quatre, info," Heero ordered.   
"It's a 2 story building, at least 5 different rooms. The place used to be a sea warehouse, but was closed down a few months ago.." Quatre said as he swung his chair around, continually typing with his right hand and watching the data flow on the screen. He stopped momentarily, feeling slightly confused. "Something.."   
"Hn?"   
"It's nothing," Quatre answered. "Nothing.."   
Heero grunted and looked at the darkness.   
There was a constant dripping, probably from some type of rusted plumbing. Several small cobwebs hung against the walls, and all of them felt a strange trouble in being there.   
Trowa carefully hit the side of a large cargo box, and heard a loud shudder.

Just then the blonde jerked up out of his chair. "GET OUT!! GET OUT NOW!!" Quatre shrieked.

"What?!!" Duo turned around to look, but all he could see was darkness.   
"NOW!! BEF.." there was a loud, sudden noise followed by a hiss.   
"Quatre? Quatre?!" Trowa stared at his radio. "Quatre?!!" The only response was the continued hiss.   
Just then a create came out of nowhere, tackling the brunette to the ground. Another followed, completely shadowing Heero.   
"What the.. UGH! SHIT!" Duo felt something hard and cold slam into his side, and he screamed as a cold pain thrashed in his side.

In the computer room, the hiss continued. A cold pool of blood formed against the side of the chair as the equipment continued to feed in data...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Confusing yet? It'll get worse.. actually this is where it gets easier for me to write so it won't take as long. Writing this was pretty tough in itself!   
Once again thanks to EVERYONE who reads and revies, you make my job a lot more pleasant.. and thanks to the crazed baka who has to read these stories first.   


  



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